At Pirehill we strive to develop confident, self assured, positive young people who love to learn, who want to contribute and need to achieve. The governors of the school work together with the headteacher and dedicated team of staff to deliver this vision for the whole school community.

The core role of the governing body defined in the governors handbook is to :-

• Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Hold the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
• Oversee the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

We continually review how our work and how best to carry out our role efficiently. We meet as a whole governing body twice a term and have an annual plan of what we do at each meeting. The headteacher provides a report to governors for the second meeting of every term which gives an update on the many activities during the term and review of the school improvement plan and progress. It would not be possible to do everything within the meetings so we also have link governors with specific areas of review who meet with staff in school to look at particular elements in more detail and report back to the full governing body through link governor reports.

Who are the governors?

The governing body is made up of a specified number of different types of governors to represent the community. They are parents, staff and representatives from the community that have been co-opted onto the governing body. Governors serve for a specified number of years and we are always looking for new and enthusiastic people who care about the education of our children to join the governing body.

• Matthew Beardmore:  Chair of Governors.  Matthew is a Parent Governor who works within the NHS in planning and performance management.  Matthew will use his experience to work closely with staff, governors and parents to help achieve the best possible standards of education for the children.
• Louise Kennedy: Vice Chair of Governors.  Louise is a Co-opted Governor and qualified barrister specialising in family law representing local authorities, parents and children.
• Karen Williamson Smith : Headteacher
• Kate Proffitt : As the Deputy Headteacher Kate is a co-opted member of the governing body.
• Susan Crookshank : A parent governor for 6 years before transferring to become a co-opted. Susan has a background in computing and runs her own business.  Susan is also our finance link governor meeting with the office manager termly to review finances and agree a report back to governors for decision making
• Jill Hood : Jill is a Local Town and County Councillor and has joined the governing body to help us improve links with the local community. She has link governor responsibility for SMSC, Pupil Voice and More and Most Able.
• Mary Hassell : Mary is a Co-opted Governor with a background in healthcare and is our link governor for safeguarding.
• Annie Hallett : Annie is a teacher at Pirehill and is the KS2 Leader, and lead teacher for English and Languages.
• Richard Burditt:  Richard is a Parent Governor, who has a background in digital and business transformation in the public and private sector, and runs his own business.  Richard is also our link governor for Art & Design, Design & Technology and Computing.
• Stephen Beamond: Stephen is a Parent Governor with experience in accounting and planning.  Stephen is a member of the AAT and works as a business analyst for a software development company.  Previously Stephen has worked in the education sector and for a schools' library service.

Governor Terms of Office